Plus here is the best part, you have a chance to win a set in mini
chalk inks for just subscribing to my YouTube Channel, full details are
on my channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/scrapsofreflection), but there will be 4 winners, each receiving one set of 4 mini chalk inks!!

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Need some last minute inspiration for card right before the holidays, check out these fun ones I got from happy mail or that I made this past week! One is even a winter card you can use after Christmas is over! Look below for my fast and fun winter card!!

Here is a video filled of fun card ideas.

It is never too late in the winter season to send out those winter card to friends and family!!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Time for part 4 of the Brutus Monroe Ink Lab were I test to see how the various inks all compare to various inking techniques including heat embossing, distressing edging, generation stamping up to 4 generations, and blending with a blending tool.

So
for these tests I did a video to show how they all compered against
each other. Brutus Monroe is offering an amazing deal for all Chalk Ink Pads plus Chalk Ink Re-inkers for the next couple months - a 20% off your ink purchase.

Plus here is the best part, you have a chance to win a set in mini
chalk inks for just subscribing to my YouTube Channel. All you need to do is
1) Subscribe to my video - if you are already a subbie awesome!!
2) Leave a comment on this video that you have subbed and would like to win the prize!!

The inks I tested were Brutus Monroe Chalk ink in Wagon,
Ranger Distress ink in Fired Brick, StazOn in Pumpkin, Dare 2B Artzy in
Red, Studio G Chalks in Red, Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink in Tangerine,
Prima Quick Dry fluid chalk ink in Brick Wall, and Prima Resist Chalk
Edger in Rose Bud. I kept all the color as close as possible in the
range of red and oranges.

Test 1 - Blending

I
tested each of the 8 inks on a small squares of white cardstock to see how well each blended on the paper using a blending tool. I compared each of the inks to the Ranger distress ink because that is one of the main purposes of that ink. The best matches are the Brutus Monroe, Dare 2B Artzy, and The Studio Chalk inks. For full results please see
the video.

Test 2 - Heat EmbossingI
tested each of the 8 inks on a square of white cardstock with a gold embossing powder, a generic brand I have had for years as we were testing the ink and not the powder. I tested to see if the gold covered up the red and orange ink, if it did a good coverage then it worked well. All but the Stazon and Dar2B Artzy worked great, those 2 did not work at all. For
complete results please see the video.

Test 3 - Generation Stamping up to 4 Generations

I
tested each of the 8 inks on white paper. I stamped each stamp with one ink application to the stamp to see how well each stamp lasted being stamped without re-inking through 4 generations of stamps. Some faded nicely (Brutus Monroe, Stazon, Studio G, and Colorbox) and some were blotchy past the generation 1 stamp. For full results please see the video.

Test 4 - Distress Edging

I
tested each of the 8 inks on a section of white cardstock that one side was left smooth and the other was distress with a edge distress tool. I then inked the edges with all 8 inks. They all work just fine, but the application and the durability of the ink pad are what I was comparing. Over time the Prima inks, Studio G, and Colorbox all tear and fall off over time when you edge with them for too long. The other 4 inks all work great with out tearing or fall apart. For full results please see the video.

I will say that the Brutus Monroe inks
were amazing for all these tests. I loved that they held up too
different kinds of tecniques and are holding up tho the name of an all
purpose ink!! Amazing inks!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

I love the idea of a swirl Christmas tree, I got the idea from a painting I made a Painting with a Twist - see below, but I had to do it my own way!! So why not with clay and make it a card!!

This was my inspiration canvas I made at the painting event, ya I took a few liberties and made a forest, hehe.

I used the clay and form it into swirls that I then glued with Beacon 3 in 1 glue to the Canvas Corp burlap stitched card, and then inked the edges in ink. Here is a complete video tutorial on how I made this card.

And a few up close pictures.

Let your imagination soar when it come to what supplies you use in your card, crafts, and projects - have fun with it!!

Monday, December 19, 2016

I made some jam (well it turned out to be more like syrup when it was done, but it still tasted super yummy) from all fruit in my backyard that I froze through out the season. We have blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, apples, peaches, limes, and a plum! It became my Holiday Syrup (it is great on waffles) that we gave out to friends, family, and teachers for Christmas. Now I know that the syrup is good all by itself, but I needed to dress up the jars a bit, because it is me after all.

I stared with the plain filled and sealed jars, placed the label on the back, added a little flower on the top, bling along the lid, and them tied a sting with the label along the rim. Here is a video on how I made this cute little decorated jam jar.

I made over 30 jars, but it made for an easy gift to hand out to all that needed one this year.

I used my Xyron Creative Station to stick the labels I made on my computer onto the jars, this is so easy!!!

Adding that pretty little something to the top of the jars just makes it all that much sweeter!

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Here we go again, let test some more surfaces with various types of inks, this time it is clay, foil, tile, and wood. I also did the
same tests on a variety of other inks in my Brutus Monroe Ink Test Lab
Part 3.

So
for these tests I did a video to show how they all compered against
each other. Brutus Monroe is offering an amazing deal for all Chalk Ink Pads plus Chalk Ink Re-inkers for the next couple months - a 20% off your ink purchase

Plus here is the best part, you have a chance to win a set in mini
chalk inks for just subscribing to my YouTube Channel. All you need to do is
1) Subscribe to my video - if you are already a subbie awesome!!
2) Leave a comment on this video that you have subbed and would like to win the prize!!

The inks I tested were Brutus Monroe Chalk ink in Wagon,
Ranger Distress ink in Fired Brick, StazOn in Pumpkin, Dare 2B Artzy in
Red, Studio G Chalks in Red, Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink in Tangerine,
Prima Quick Dry fluid chalk ink in Brick Wall, and Prima Resist Chalk
Edger in Rose Bud. I kept all the color as close as possible in the
range of red and oranges.

Test 1 - Air Dry Clay

I
tested each of the 8 inks on a Makin's Clay rolled of sheet of white
clay and let it air dry for about 2 hours. I tested if it smeared when
it was first stamped and how well it heat set. For results please see
the video.

Test 2 - Rinea Foil Paper
I
tested each of the 8 inks on a sheet of Rinea foil in silver. I tested
if it smeared when it was first stamped and how well it heat set. For
results please see the video.

Test 3 - Tile
I
tested each of the 8 inks on a section of white tile. I tested if it
smeared when it was first stamped, how well it heat set, and if it bled
when water was sprayed on it. For results please see the video.

Test 4 - Wood
I
tested each of the 8 inks on a section of untreated sanded pine wood. I
tested if it smeared when it was first stamped and if it bled when
water was sprayed on it. For results please see the video.

I will say that the Brutus Monroe inks
were amazing for all these tests. I loved that they held up too
different kinds of surfaces and are holding up tho the name of an all
purpose ink!! Amazing inks!!

Sunday, December 4, 2016

I got a chance to be apart of a card swap about a month ago, and I got some amazing cards back from some fantastic crafty ladies.

I made 2 of the cards, but the other 21 cards are all from the various ladies in the swap. Here is a complete video rundown of all the amazing cards in the swap, plus my thoughts on how they made them!!

The big themes for this year based on these cards:
1) Foil - there are some many card that had foil on them in some way, embossed foil, foil cut outs, foil on the bow, it really does make for a beautiful card!!

2) embossed white cardstock - take a simple sheet of white cardstock and embossing it seem to be a huge trend, and it looks amazing!!

3) Vertical Flip up Cards - cards that open differently, those that flip up but are vertical seemed to be a huge trend!

Thursday, December 1, 2016

We are back for part 2 of the Brutus Monroe Ink Test Lab where we test a variety of inks such as Brutus Monroe, Ranger Distress, Colorbox, Stazon, and more on canvas, burlap, plastic and glass to see if the stamped image would hold.

So for these tests I did a video to show how they all compered
against each other. Brutus Monroe is offering an amazing deal for all Chalk Ink Pads plus Chalk Ink Re-inkers for the next couple months - a 20% off your ink purchase

Plus here is the best part, you have a chance to win a set in mini
chalk inks for just subscribing to my YouTube Channel. All you need to do is
1) Subscribe to my video - if you are already a subbie awesome!!
2) Leave a comment on this video that you have subbed and would like to win the prize!!

Here is my video.

You can also go back and leave the same comment on the Part 1 Video where I test out the inks on cardstock, glossy paper, if it the ink can be turned into a water color, and how it holds up to various markers. This give you 2 entries into the giveaway!!

Here is the link to that video:

The inks I tested were Brutus Monroe Chalk ink in Wagon,
Ranger Distress ink in Fired Brick, StazOn in Pumpkin, Dare 2B Artzy in
Red, Studio G Chalks in Red, Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink in Tangerine,
Prima Quick Dry fluid chalk ink in Brick Wall, and Prima Resist Chalk
Edger in Rose Bud. I kept all the color as close as possible in the
range of red and oranges.

Test 1 - Canvas

I tested each of the 8 inks on a Canavs Corp Brands square of white
canvas material. I tested if it smeared when it was first stamped, how
well it heat set, and if it bled when water was sprayed on it. For
results please see the video.

Test 2 - Burlap

I tested each of the 8 inks on a Canvas Corp Brands square of ivory
burlap material. I tested if it smeared when it was first stamped, how
well it heat set, and if it bled when water was sprayed on it. For
results please see the video.

Test 3 - Plastic

I tested each of the 8 inks on a section of acrylic plastic sheet. I
tested if it smeared when it was first stamped, how well it heat set,
and if it bled when water was sprayed on it. For results please see the
video.

Test 4 - Glass

I tested each of the 8 inks on a section of a glass pane. I tested
if it smeared when it was first stamped, how well it heat set, and if it
bled when water was sprayed on it. For results please see the video.

I will say that the Brutus Monroe inks
were amazing for all these tests. I loved that they held up to
different kinds of surfaces and are holing up tho the name of an all
purpose ink!! Amazing inks!!

Alexa

FTC Notice:

I am blessed to work in an industry I love. As a project designer and instructor I am often given products to work with. Some of the products I work with have been given to me by companies I design for or sold to me at a discounted rate. While this in no way controls my content (I only use and blog what I love) the government says I have to tell you that I might have gotten some things for free.

About Me

I am a mother of 4 children (2 boys and 2 girls). I have been scrapping since 2007, mostly to scrap my oldest child's baby book and it took off from there. I love to create and to find new ideas.
erinkreed@gmail.com